According to Global Migration Report 2020, total number of migrants in the world is estimated at 270 million. Importantly, the United States of America becomes the top destination, with 51 million migrants.
With a 17.5 million-strong diaspora across the world, India continues to be the largest country of origin of international migrants. The UN migration agency said that it received the highest remittance of USD 78.6 billion from Indians living abroad.
In its latest global report, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) mentioned that the overall figure represents only a tiny fraction of the world’s population. The report noted that there is an increase of 0.1 per cent on the level indicated in its last report which was published two years ago.
According to IOM’s Global Migration Report 2020, “This figure remains a very small percentage of the world’s population (at 3.5 per cent). This means “that the vast majority of people globally (96.5 per cent) are estimated to be residing in the country in which they were born.”
The UN agency noted that more than half of all international migrants (141 million) live in Europe and North America. According to an estimate 52 per cent are male. Around two-thirds population of migrants is looking for work. The figures constitute around 164 million people.
India had the largest number of migrants living abroad (17.5 million), followed by Mexico (11.8 million) and China (10.7 million). The United States remained the top destination for migrants (50.7 million international migrants). This has made the United States top remittance-sending country (USD 68.0 billion). The Unites States of America is followed by the United Arab Emirates (USD 44.4 billion) and Saudi Arabia (USD 36.1 billion). The report confirmed that else than the US there are other important migration corridors from poorer countries to richer nations such as those to France, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
